July 1912

Herman Holtz has purchased the Neillsville Hotel, which has been run by Sol Jaseph.  Holtz will take possession in about ten days. It will be fitted up in modern style and run in a way that will satisfy the public.  Mr. and Mrs. Holtz have run the Wasserberger Hotel for some time past.  They are very popular with the traveling public and the farmer trade.

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One day last week, Ed Voight, in the Town of York, was planting corn and left a sack partly filled with corn near an old building.  When he cam to refill the corn planter, he reached into the sack and one of his fingers was bitten through by a pine snake.  The snake had crawled into the sack. He gave the wound a thorough bath in carbolic acid and so far has no bad effects from the bite.  Pine snakes seem to be plentiful in the vicinity this summer.

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Connor Retail Lumber Co., of Neillsville, has everything in building material.  Their advice is – build with wood to fit your purse.  Rather than overburden yourself with debt by building a house larger than your present needs demand, build smaller and use wood:  Wood is the most elastic building material on earth.  You should start with 4 or 5 rooms.  Additions can be made as required and when painted, the old looks same as the new.  Our figures on lumber and advice on home building may help you with your plans; it’s free for the asking.

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Are you going to build a silo?  Get tie rods, hoops, turn-buckles and other reinforcing material at J. A. Randall.  They haven’t time to go out canvassing but they can show you what you need.  They also make a specialty of silo roofs.

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Fifty girls are wanted to work in the Overall Factory in Neillsville.  Those who are interested should inquire at the factory.

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An ordinance prohibiting diving or jumping from the Hewett Street Bridge into O’Neill Creek beneath has been ordained by the City of Neillsville.

It shall be unlawful for any person to jump, dive or plunge from Hewett Street Bridge into O’Neill Creek beneath it, from any point or place thereon.  Any person, who shall violate this section or part thereof, shall pay a fine of not less than Five Dollars, nor more that $25.

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Mr. and Mrs. Jess Lowe left last Thursday for a lake trip.  They went to Hartland where they were joined by their two daughters who had been visiting in Hartland.  Their plan is to go by boat from Milwaukee to Chicago, then take a boat up through the lakes to Duluth.  They will visit Port Arthur, Canada and return through “The Soo” to Green Bay and come home from there by rail.

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The Neillsville baseball team defeated the Lynn team last Sunday at Gates’ field by a score of 22 to 5.  Schiller and Bast pitched for Neillsville with both doing an excellent job.  Some of the Neillsville boys played with Lynn to fill out the team.

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Mr. and Mrs. George Ure autoed out from Neillsville last Friday evening accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. C. C. Sniteman.  This was Mr. Sniteman’s first ride in an automobile and incidentally it was also his first visit to Granton.

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July 1932

On Saturday, a deal was entered into between D. O. Chapman and Wm. Puttkamer.  Puttkamer exchanged his residence, just north of the North Side Store, for Chapman’s farm of 27 acres located north of the Catholic Church.  In the deal, Puttkamer also gets the personal property on the farm.

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Neillsville’s hospitality in feeding hoboes appears to be getting results.

For the period from October 1 of last year to June 1, this year, 750 “floaters” have been fed by the city, according to Fred Rossman, chief of police.  About two-thirds of these men were given two meals and the balance one meal.

In the same period in 1930-31, the total of hoboes fed by Neillsville totaled only 150, it is reported.

Many of the floaters have a circuit over which they travel, reappearing at intervals at the towns where they know they will be well fed.

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Florian Thiel, of the Town of Washburn, came to early Mass on Saturday morning at St. Mary’s Church.  It was the 50^th anniversary of his marriage.  Although he is far over 80 years of age, he occasionally walks in to town, a distance of 10 miles to attend church.

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The thieves who in the past two weeks have stripped the W. D. Martin farmhouse near Columbia of all windows, storage batteries and electric fixtures, returned to the same district last week.  They performed on a much larger scale than on any previous campaign.  This time, they stole an entire house which had been standing vacant for some years, just north of the Martin farm.  They are believed to have dismantled the building last Monday night.  Nothing was left except the bare ground on which the structure had rested. 

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Wayne King, the waltz king and his 13 piece orchestra, from the Aragon ballroom in Chicago, will be at the Wissota Ballroom, near Chippewa Falls on Friday, July 15.  Lady Esther will serenade at this only Northern Wisconsin appearance during the month of July.  There will be an admission of 25c to park and an additional 75c to dance.  There will be a special gift, a photo of Wayne King, given to the first 250 ladies buying tickets.

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A huge crowd gathered a Granton on Saturday night to hear the band concert and harmonica contest.  The contest was held under the direction of Mrs. Gene Crandall.  John Sladek won first place in the contest, being awarded a 32-piece set of dishes.  Eldon Elmhorst won second prize, a pair of shoes; Lawrence Dorst, a $1.50 merchandise credit and Eldred Reichert, a shirt as fourth prize.  Extra clerks were employed at the stores to handle the increased business on that evening.  Next Saturday night, a concertina and accordion contest will be held as part of the band concert program.

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Nearly all of Neillsville’s city streets received a coat of oil this week.  The oiling job was done by the Farrington Co. of Delton. The work required 30,000 gallons of oil and cost 4 ½ cents per gallon applied.

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O. K. Ripplinger, Clark County motorcycle officer, has resigned as secretary of the Neillsville Building and Loan Association.  His new position is making it impossible to continue with the association work.  Frank E. Brown, local jeweler, has been chosen as Ripplinger’s successor.  Ripplinger was secretary of the association for several years and proved to be most efficient with the job.

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There will be an old-time dance at the Riverside Pavilion on Friday night, July 22.  The music will be provided by the Schoengarth band.

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Friday forenoon, a family consisting of a man, his wife and four small children were brought by automobile from Marshfield and deposited in the city limits of Neillsville.

The man, who appealed for aid to the city authorities, gave his name as Oscar Hanson.  He stated that his place of residence is San Francisco.  He and his family had come to Chicago on the promise of a friend to find work for him.  He secured a job for a time, but now had no work and was out on the road trying to get to Minneapolis where a friend had promised the family shelter for the present time.  The youngest child is about three months old and oldest about seven years, all nice appearing children.

The family was given a dinner and after puzzling over the matter for some time, the city authorities decided to get railroad transportation for the family to Minneapolis.  It is reported that the railroad company is making half rates for transportation of persons in such cases and City Clerk H. L. Brown has filed an affidavit to secure rebate in this case, the city having provided the family with the railroad tickets.

The family had evidently been handed from one town to another all the way from Chicago.  They appeared quite cheerful, were well dressed and clean in appearance.

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Shop at the H. Roehrborn store in Neillsville and P. H. Martin’s store in Lindsey; United Home Grocers.  This week’s specials are Van Camp’s tomato soup, 5c per can; Vanity macaroni products, one package free with the purchase of 3 pkgs. 23c; Home grown carrots, 2 bunches 9c; Bartlett pears, 9c per lb.  Buy ½ lb. Hershey chocolate, ½ lb. Hershey Cocoa for 31c and get one 5c Hershey almond candy bar Free!

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There was a thrilling baseball game between Eaton Center and Neillsville, at the Fairgrounds here last Sunday.

It was an old-fashioned pitching duel between Gerhardt of Neillsville who bested Podobnik of Eaton Center in a battle of curves and fastballs by a score of 2 to 1. The fame was full of thrills and chills, so close was the margin between the two teams that any kind of break would have changed the decision either way.

Both pitchers received sparkling support; Gluck, playing shortstop for Neillsville and the two Christies, playing at third base and shortstop for Eaton Center, especially made great plays at critical times to prevent runs.  Nice running catches in the outfield were made by Donahue of Neillsville and G. Christie of Eaton Center.

Neillsville created a lot of excitement in their half of the first inning, but nothing came of it due to some confusion on the bases.  Gluck, first man up, walked on four straight pitches and Donahue, up next, laid down a bunt so cleverly that he beat it out for a hit.  With men on first and second, Gander missed the sign to bunt and grounded to the pitcher instead, forcing Gluck at third.  Bush then hit one to the shortstop which forced Gander at second and while Donahue was hesitating between third and home, as to whether or not he should score, he was run down and put out by a throw from Christie to Rhode.

In the fourth inning, the locals put over the runs that decided the ball game.  Donahue’s high infield fly ball was dropped by Podobnik, the pitcher.  With two strikes on him, Gander lined the next pitch out to center field, scoring Donahue when the center fielder let the ball roll through him.  Gander went all the way to third on that misplay and came in on Bush’s shot to right.

Eaton Center threatened frequently and finally broke through the Neillsville defense for one run in their half of the eighth. E. Christie hit safely for a base, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and came in on Rhode’s Texas league single, which barely fell out of Gluck’s reach.

Neillsville’s line-up: Gluck, shortstop; Donahue, left fielder; Gander 3^rd base; Bush, right fielder; Skroch, catcher; Gerhardt, pitcher; Olson, 2^nd base; Weaver, center; Wasserberger, left base.

Eaton Center line-up: J. McConnel, second; A. Christie, 3^rd base; G. Scherer, left field; Kalkoff, 1^st base; G. Christie, center field; E. Christie, shortstop; P. McConnell, right field; Rhode, catcher; Podobnik, pitcher.

After facing a slow curve last Sunday, the local batsmen had quite a time getting used to Podobnik’s high fast pitch.  A fast-ball, shoulder high, is a hard ball to hit and the Eaton Center pitcher used this delivery frequently.

The two pitchers were almost on a par as far as strikeouts went. Gerhardt, facing 32 batsmen, whiffed 13, while Podobnik, facing 29, breezed by the third strike 11 times.  Both of the hurlers allowed one free passage to first.

The Eaton Center left side of the infield looks the strongest of any team Neillsville has faced this year.  The two Christie boys at short and third grabbed everything that came their way last Sunday.  Art Christie, the third baseman, especially making some stops that were classics. 

The locals executed a double play ala big league style in the seventh, which helped the Neillsville cause considerably.  With a man on first as a result of a hit, with nobody down, Gluck flagged Kalkoff’s hot grounder, tossed it to Olson to force the man coming down from first and Olson relayed the ball to first in plenty of time to get the batter.

From the shortstop to one of the best outfielders in the league, that’s the story of Harry Donahue and one of the reasons for the improvement in the general play of Schweinler’s protégés.  The shift of Gluck from third to short is another factor.  Dimps Gluck is playing the game of his life as shortstop; local fans saw plenty evidence of that last Sunday.

Floyd Bush, the grand old man of the game, must get his daily hit, or else it doesn’t seem like a ball game.  The nice part about Bush’s singles is this; they usually come when they are needed.  Last Sunday Bush’s hit drove in what proved to be the winning run.

Next Sunday, the game of games, the “crucial” game, or what have you, is on tap, when the two league leaders, Neillsville and Loyal, tangle at Loyal.  Only half a game separates the two teams and with the season so far along, it is a pretty safe bet to predict that the winner of the game will also be the winner of the pennant.  The fans’ support is solicited.

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The Lutheran congregation, at Globe, will celebrate its annual mission fest in the customary way next Sunday. The forenoon German service will be held at 10:30 a.m. with Prof. J. P. Koehler, as speaker. The afternoon English service, beginning at 2:30, will have Rev. G. Gieschen of Marshfield as speaker.

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The Hewett Street Bridge above the dam on O’Neill Creek, as it appeared circa 1910.  The Wolff-Korman Wagon Shop appears in the background.  (Photo courtesy of Sontag Family Collection)